AAAAAAH! We're on the twelfth tape already! When did that happen?
Long chapter, because I love you all. :)
Yeah, it's Harry. The big pink heart was so cliché, but, let's face it, Luna loves Harry.
And, yes, this chapter is based on Clay Jensen's tape in the original Thirteen Reasons Why.
I'm not J.K. Rowling. Unfortunately.
"Just two more tapes. Don't give up on me now.
"But isn't that what I'm doing? Giving up?
"And, we come to the boy I was referring to in the last tape:
"Harry Potter."
Harry's mouth dropped open. "What...but I...what?!"
Ron shook his head and motioned to the tape.
"Harry Potter. Yet another person who doesn't really belong on these tapes. But, like Ginny, he took part in a big event that changed my life. Slughorn's party.
"All of you remember Slughorn's Christmas parties, don't you? They were held every Christmas. Usually, only people in the "Slug Club" were invited, but they were allowed to bring guests.
"When I was fifteen, and after I realized I loved Harry, Ginny and Harry had not started dating yet. So, when Slughorn told Harry he could bring a date, his choice was me.
"Me! I was ecstatic. Was it possible? Did Harry Potter really return my feelings?
"So I said yes. I knew he didn't like me. I could tell from how uncomfortable he looked that he was hoping for me to say no. But I said yes anyway. Why? I don't know. Was it lack of self respect? Was it a small voice in my head that told me that he did, indeed like me? I haven't the foggiest idea.
"Flash forward to the night of Slughorn's party. I put on my best set of silver robes, and left off my butterbeer cork necklace and my radish earrings that I knew Harry hated. I actually brushed my hair for once, and I even put on some makeup. All in all, I thought I looked pretty good.
"I waited for Harry at the entrance to the Great Hall for five minutes before he came in. When I saw him, my heart sang. Corny, right? Well, I honestly couldn't think of any other way to describe it. But, I'm getting off topic. We made our way to the location where the party was being held. As soon as we arrived, I told Trelawney of my theory about the Auror's plan to take over the world using Dark Magic and bad oral hygiene. 'Thank Merlin I have good oral habits!' I told Trelawney.
"I looked around. Harry had ditched me.
"I sighed. I should have known. Harry had just wanted a date. Feeling dejected, I shoved my way through the crowd and looked for him.
"Finally, I found him coming from the Hall. He looked panicked, and my anger melted away immediately.
"'Harry! What happened?' I asked him as he bumped into me.
"'What? Nothing!' Harry answered, looking guilty. I probably shuld have pestered him about it, but I let it slide. 'Look, Luna. There's an after party in the Gryffindor common room. When the party's over, would you mind coming with me?
"'But, I'm not a Gryffindor! How will I get in?' I asked him.
"'As long as you're with me, the Fat Lady will let you in.' Harry promised me.
"'Alright.' I said reluctantly.
For the rest of the night, I followed him around like a lost puppy. I was never happier than when Harry took me from the party and lead me to the Gryffindor common room.
"And, woah. They were just as spectacular as the legends told. There were banners that illustrated with elaborate drawings on them-wizards fighting dragons, witches brewing potions, and all sorts of beautiful magical creatures. Everything was decorated with red, gold, and green, and, in the middle of the room stood a vast, beautiful green Christmas tree, adorned with sparkling ornaments and shining pieces of tinsel.
"But what stood out most of all was the keg that stood next to the couch.
"Harry took my hand and lead me to the couch. As we sat down, he leaned down, grabbed two bottles of what I assumed was butterbeer out of the keg, and gave me one bottle. We talked, and laughed, and joked, and I was having such a great time that it wasn't until I had three bottles of the mysterious beverage that I realized that it wasn't butterbeer. It was firewhiskey-and, judging by the ringing in my ears, I was getting tipsy.
"I don't think Harry realized it either. I set down my bottle and said, 'Harry, I think this is firewhiskey.'
"'What?' Harry yelled. The music was so loud that he couldn't hear me.
"'I said-' I started.
"'Hey, Harry! Did you hear?' Dean Thomas approached Harry and gave him a slap on the back. 'George managed to snag some stuff from Honeydukes!'
"'That's great!' Harry said. He turned to me. 'C'mon, Luna.'
"I followed him, knowing that George would never bring something harmful from Honeydukes.
"The night went on. I lost Harry for a half hour, and when he found me, I could smell firewhiskey on his breath.
"'Hi, Luna!' Harry said happily. Although I knew he wasn't entirely drunk, I could tell that he wasn't completely sober, either.
"'Harry, how much have you had to drink?' I said quietly.
"Harry waved a hand. 'Oh, enough.'
"And then he kissed me.
Harry shot up from his seat. "I did?" He had a vague recollection of that night. He remembered drinking what he thought was butterbeer, and then...nothing.
He groaned. He had gotten hammered with firewhiskey. This was the last time he ever drank from that keg.
Suddenly, Harry had a vague memory of kissing a blonde girl and running his finger through her hair. Oh, shit.
"Literally, bent down to meet my height and kissed me on the lips. And, like my kiss with Draco, it was...nice. Most books talk about drunk men grabbing the girl's ass or shoving their hands down her shirt, but the kiss wasn't lustful. It was nice. It felt like he needed me.
"I broke apart and said, 'Harry-'
"Harry shushed me and kissed me again. This time, I reacted, running my hands through his messy hair. Eventually, we broke apart, and he picked me up bridal style and carried me to his bedroom.
"We lay on the bed and kissed. And kissed. That's literally all we did.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sure you all wanted to hear about how my itchy little hands reached for his zipper and then...
"But, no. We did not have sex. We did not touch each other. We just kissed.
"Sometime after he'd carried me in, I realized something. I was living out my exact reputation. I was, in essence, becoming the exact person that everyone thought I was. And, if there was a rumour that I slept with Harry, then it wouldn't hurt me. My reputation was already down the toilet. But, Harry, sweet, innocent Harry did not deserve the reputation of a womanizer. A tool. A player who had one night stands.
"So, I said, "Stop." Then again, "STOP."
"'Alright.' Harry said. I was grateful that Harry wasn't one of those jerkfaces who continued to make out even when someone told him to stop.
"We separated and lay there next to each other, silent. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, and I realized that I suddenly wanted nothing more to go away.
"'Go away.' I told him, burying my head into the pillow.
"'Luna? Are you sure?'" Harry said, rolling onto his side so that he could see me. 'Because if you need someone to talk-'
"'Go away!' I screamed into the pillow. I felt the weight on the mattress shift as he got up and watched me for a moment. Finally, he walked over to the doorway, watched me for a minute, and left.
"I shouldn't have left." Harry moaned in despair. "I should have made her tell me what was bothering her."
"It's not your fault, mate." Ron said.
"I lay there, thinking of all the things that had happened to me. The kiss. The rumours. The bullying. Padma and Michael's betrayal. The end of the D.A. It was all too much.
"I got up from the bed and stormed out the door.
"'I'm leaving.' I told Harry.
"'Would you like me to escort you back to your dorm?' Harry asked.
"But I had already ran out the common room door. I could hear Harry calling my name, but I didn't answer him. I wanted to get back to my dorm and go to bed.
"But, when I finally had donned my pajamas and gotten into bed, I realized that I couldn't sleep. There was something nagging at my brain.
"So, I got up, and I made a list of all the people who had affected the reason that I was so...miserable.
"And, after a lot of thought, I went over my list and circled Hermione's name. The Snape's. Then Draco. And so on until Harry's name.
"And, finally, I had an idea, which I will reveal to you in the next tape.
"Content, I went to bed."
The tape ended.
"You and Luna, huh?" Ron said.
"I was really drunk, Ron." Harry said. Now that he had heard it from Luna's mouth, he was slowly starting to remember that night. "I thought I was drinking butterbeer, but it turned out to be firewhiskey."
"Mm hm." Ron said, not looking as though he believed his best friend.
Without looking at Ron, Harry got up, took his tape out of the recorder, got out the next tape, and examined it.
"Hey, there's nothing here." Harry said. He was right-Luna, perhaps because she hadn't wanted to give away who the mysterious person on tape number fourteen was, hadn't drawn a picture on tape fourteen. Or perhaps she felt the thirteenth person didn't deserve a tape. There was only one way to find out.
GAAAAAAAH! Yes, I realize "You and Luna, huh?" was incredibly insensitive of Ron to say, but he wanted to break the silence. Honestly, what does one say when hearing what was going on in a suicidal girl's head during her last days?
And, I didn't want to give person thirteen a picture. The only symbol I could think of was way too obvious, and I decided to just leave it blank.
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